Lading car and bulkhead arrangement

ABSTRACT

A lading car and bulkhead arrangement includes a car and a space divider bulkhead therein, the car having a floor, a pair of load bearing upstanding end walls and a spinelike beam structure which is carried by the end walls and extends centrally of the car in rigidifying relationship to the car body. Outwardly extending tracks are formed on the beam structure and a moveable carriage is suspended from rollers which roll upon the track. The bulkhead is suspended from the carriage and sprocket and apertured timing means is provided on the carriage and underside of beam structure to effect nonbiased longitudinal movement of the bulkhead in the car. A slotted latching assembly is provided in the bulkhead to effect latching of the bulkhead with the floor in a predetermined longitudinal position in the car irrespective of the variation in distance between the tracks and floor of the car.

United States Patent [72] Inventors lrvan L. Winterfeldt Crestwood; I Leslie W. Martin, Chicago; Samuel H.

Enochian, Thornton, all of, 111. [21] Appl. No. 809,185 [22] Filed Mar. 21,1969 1451 Patented July 20, 1971 [73] Assignee Unarco Industries, Inc.

[54] LADING CAR AND BULKHEAD ARRANGEMENT 1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 105/376 [51] Int. Cl 860p 7/14 [50] Field of Search 105/369 B, 376, 378

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 617,623 1/1899 Young 105/369 (B) 2,866,419 12/1958 Candlin, Jr. 105/376 3,018,741 1/1962 Loomis etal... 105/376 3,208,403 9/1965 Magarian et a1. 105/376 3,215,092 11/1965 Knippel 105/376 Primary Examiner-Drayton E. Hoffman Attorney-Norman Lettvin ABSTRACT: A lading car and bulkhead arrangement includes a car and a space divider bulkhead therein, the car having a floor, a pair of load bearing upstanding end walls and a spinelike beam structure which is carried by the end walls and extends centrally of the car in rigidifying relationship to the car body. Outwardly extending tracks are formed on the beam structure and a moveable carriage is suspended from rollers which roll upon the track. The bulkhead is suspended from the carriage and sprocket and apertured timing means is provided on the carriage and underside of beam structure to effect nonbiased longitudinal movement of the bulkhead in the car. A slotted latching assembly is provided in the bulkhead to effect latching of the bulkhead with the floor in a predetermined 1ongitudinal position in the car irrespective of the variation in distance between the tracks and floor of the car.

LADING CAR AND BULKHEAD ARRANGEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a freight carrying body and bulkhead arrangement and, more particularly, to a lading car and a moveable bulkhead assembly which is moveable for lading protection and compartmentation over substantially the entire length of the car on a central spinelike beam structure.

It has been current practice to ship various lading in freight carrying cars or vehicles having end walls and sidewalls and which have been provided with longitudinally moveable bulkheads therein for compartmenting the car and engaging the lading carried therein to limit shifting of the lading in the car during transport. Such bulkheads extend transversely across the width of the car and are usually of a height such that they extend substantially from the floor to adjacent the ceiling of the car. These bulkheads are generally suspended from the roof or along sidewalls of the car by rolling carriages or the like, to facilitate their longitudinal movement and positioning within the car.

With the advent of lading carrying vehicles wherein a substantialportion of the sidewall of the vehicle is replaced by large access doors, the structural support provided by the fixed sidewalls of the prior lading cars has been substantially reduced, if not lost altogether. Such condition is exemplified in the present all-door railroad freight cars, wherein the fixed sidewalls of the car have been replaced substantially in their entirety by moveable access doors extending over the entire length of the freight car. When the support realized by the fixed vehicle sidewalls is lost, substantial deflection of the roof and floor of the vehicle occurs over its length, both from the weight of the lading which is carried in the car and the inevitable shock which is experienced by the car during transport. Such deflection renders positioning movement of the prior lading bulkheads over the length of the car, as well as the latching of the bulkheads in their desired position, difficult, if not impossible, due to the deflection-produced substantial variation in the spacing over the length of the car between the floor and roof of the vehicle. In fact, the access doors and the bulkheads themselves tend to compound the deflection experienced in these cars since they are generally of substantial weight and their weight is concentrated wherever they are positioned.

The lading car and bulkhead arrangement which incorporates the principles of our invention renders possible the use of lading bulkheads of substantial weight even where the deflection of the floor and roof of the lading car is substantial and/or where the spacing between the floor and the roof of the car is likely to substantially vary over the length of the car I such as encountered in an all-door-type car. The bulkhead in such arrangement may be moved longitudinally over the length of the car without interruption or interference and the weight of the bulkhead is supported in such a manner that no portion thereof is borne by the delicate rotatable timing mechanism of the assembly. MOreover, the arrangement of our invention not only enables moving the bulkhead under deflection conditions of the can-but substantially reduces deflection and actually assists in reenforcing structural elements of the car against deflection both during transport and during movement of the bulkhead within the car. The bulkhead in the arrangement of our invention also includes a latching pin arrangement which maintains the bulkhead secured in its desired latched position within the car, even though substantial deflection of the roof and floor of the car and variation in spacing distance between the latter are experienced both during loading and transport, and the bulk- I head is vertically displaceable to some extent without adversely effecting the operation of its latching mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one principal aspect, the freight carrying body and bulkhead arrangement of our invention includes a floor and a roof which is supported by an elongated spinelike beam of substantially narrower width than the narrowest dimension of the body and which extends centrally and longitudinally of the body. The beam is supported on two load transmitting upright end walls at opposite ends of the body and is secured to the end walls to provide longitudinal rigidifieation of the body without obstructing free access to the body through its opposed long sides. Outwardly extending tracks extend along opposite sides of the beam and a pair of bulkhead supports, from which a bulkhead is suspended, are spaced apart a distance greater than the maximum span of the tracks and rollably suspended from the tracks by rollers offset from and mounted on the supports. Squaring means is also provided for maintaining the bulkhead in squared relation to the body during movement over its length.

In another principal aspect, a position-retaining latching structure is provided for a bulkhead which is moveable relative to the length of an elongated body and which has latchreceiving apertures that are variably spaced from the bulkhead due to deflection of the body. The latching structure includes a latch pin which is carried on the bulkhead and which is moveable between retracted and extended positions. In the extended position, the latch pin engages the apertures on the body and a control linkage is moveable between two positions and associated with the latch pin to selectively move the latch pin to the retracted position when the linkage is moved to one ofits positions, but only to release the latch pin when the linkage is moved to the other of its positions, a spring being provided to move the latch pin to the extended position when the linkage is moved to the other of its positions.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the course of this description, reference will frequently be made to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a substantially cross-sectioned side elevation view ofa preferred embodiment of railway lading car and bulkhead arrangement incorporating the principles of of our invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectioned end elevation view of the lading car with the access doors removed taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, portions of the bulkhead being broken away to show latching mechanism details;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectioned plan view of one of the car end walls taken substantially along line 2A-2A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of a preferred embodiment of bulkhead carriage assembly which is employed in the bulkhead assembly of our invention, in which portions thereof are broken away;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation view of the carriage assembly shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the carriage assembly shown in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIGS. I and 2, a railway freight car is shown which is of the all-door variety and, more specifically, in which the sidewalls of the freight car are comprised substantially in their entirety by moving access doors D and D to facilitate the onloading and offloading of lading, door D being shown partially opened in FIG. 1. Such car includes a roof 1 and floor 3 and a pair of end walls 5 extend therebetween at each end of the car. The floor 3 is supported by longitudinally extending beams 6 extending therebeneath and the roof I is supported by a plurality of longitudinally extending support beams or trusses 8, 9, l0 and 11 which extend between the end walls 5 of the car and which form a spinelike support beam extending generally centrally of the car. Each of the trusses includes an upper flanged portion I2 adjacent the roof and a lower flanged portion 14 spaced therebeneath. The respective flanged portions 12 and 14 of each truss are connected by longitudinally extending diagonal strengthening stringers 16 and the upper and lower flanged portion of each truss is connected respectively to the lower and upper flanged portions of adjacent trusses by transversely extending diagonal strengthening stringers 18. The overall beam structure formed by the trusses longitudinally rigidifies the car. Channel plates 20 extend in a cantilevered manner along each longitudinal edge of the roof and further support the roof against deflection and provide structure upon which the side access doors D and D, which form the sidewalls of the car, may be rollably supported. A plurality of vertical beams 21 and 21' are positioned in the end walls to support and rigidify the load bearing end walls as shown in FIG. 2A.

Even with the substantial structural support furnished by the end walls 5 and its beams 21 and 21', floor beams 6, and central roof supporting spinelike trusses 8, 9, and 11, the deflection over the length of the car of the roof 1 and trusses and the floor 3 in such all-door freight cars may be apprecia ble, since the access doors D and D, which are carried in nonload bearing relationship to the floor and roof, provide no support against deflection and actually compound deflection due to their own weight which must be supported by the roof and floor of the car. When the load which must be supported by the roof and floor of the car is further increased by the loading of lading which is ofa substantial weight and by the additional provision of a lading bulkhead, the degree of deflection of the floor and roof and its trusses may likely increase to such a degree that it becomes impossible to freely move the bulkhead over the entire length of the car or the bulkhead may become dislocated from its track arrangement or unlatched in the course of transport.

The bulkhead assembly of our invention is readily moveable throughout the length of the car irrespective of the degree of deflection experienced. The bulkhead assembly includes a moveable bulkhead panel 22 which is positioned transversely across the width of the car and is carried on a carriage assembly 24 which is shown in detail in FIGS. 35 and which supports the bulkhead for movement lengthwise of the car. The carriage assembly 24 comprises a shaft 26 which is jour naled for rotation between a pair of end plates 28 and 30, each of the plates having a bearing surface 32 therein which receives an end of the shaft 26. Plates 28 and 30 are, in turn, mounted each to a pair of spaced end support plates 34 and 36 by a pair of bolts 38 which extend through eccentric adjustment washers 39 and through slotted apertures 40 in the end support plates and are secured thereto by nuts 42 threaded thereon. The lower edges of the eccentric washers 39 bear upon a fixed shoulder 43 which projects from plates 34 and 36 and adjustably sustains the full load of the bulkhead. A cotter pin 44 is provided to prevent accidental loosening of nuts 42 during use. The slotted apertures 40 allow vertical adjustment of the shaft 26 with respect to the end support plates 34 and 36 to provide for proper rolling engagement between the sprocket and apertured plate of the timing mechanism. A housing 46 also extends between the end support plates 34 and 36 which substantially encloses the shaft 26 to structurally interconnect the end plates 28 and 30.

A pair of rollers 48 are rotatably mounted to the top end of each of the carriage end support plates 34 and 36, the rollers of end plate 34 facing the rollers of end plate 36. The rollers 48 are offset toward each other from the support plates 34 and 36 and are positioned to ride along the outer upper faces 50 and 51 of the lower flanged portion 14 of the two outermost trusses 8 and 11, respectively, the flanges extending outwardly away from each other to form a track along which the rollers 48 move when the bulkhead and carriage is moved lengthwise of the car. An offset safety pin 52 is also provided at the upper end of each of the end support plates 34 and 36 which extends over flange faces 50 and 51 to prevent the bulkhead from dropping in the event that any of the rollers 48 accidentally become disengaged from the track.

A plate 54 is provided at the underside of each of the outer two trusses 8 and 11, the plate extending along the length of the lower flanged portions 14 of the trusses which form the roller tracks and is firmly attached thereto, as by welding. A plurality of apertures 56, spaced along the length of the plate 54, are positioned to receive the teeth 58 of sprockets 60 and 61 which are fixed to the shaft 26 of the carriage and rotate with the shaft when the shaft is rotated. The sprockets 60 and 61 extend upwardly through openings 62 provided in the carriage housing 46. Sprocket 60 is fixed rigidly to shaft 26 while sprocket 61 is keyed at 64 to allow axial movement of the sprocket when variations in the spacing distance between the two outer trusses 8 and 11 are encountered as the carriage and its bulkhead are moved over the length of the car.

Fixed intermediate the sprockets 60 and 61 to the shaft 26, is a chain sheave 66 having a chain 68 carried thereon, the sheave extending upwardly through opening 69 and downwardly through the open bottom of the housing. A pair of reenforcing plates 69' may be positioned on the housing adjacent aperture 69 to strengthen the housing. MOvement of the carriage back and forth in the car is assisted by manual operation of the chain 68 through an access opening 70 in the bulkhead (as seen in FIG. 2) which rotates the chain sheave 66 and the shaft 26 which, in turn, rotates the sprockets 60 and 61 causing the teeth 58 of the sprockets to walk through successive ones of the timing apertures 56in plates 54.

It will be seen that the timing plates 54 not only operate to form a component of the carriage timing and inching mechanism enabling longitudinal movement of the carriage in the car and maintain the carriage in squared relationship to the car, but also act to provide additional support to the trusses 8 and 11 which bear the weight of the bulkhead, sub stantially reducing deflection of same. Moreover, it will be seen that the weight of the bulkhead is not carried by the relatively delicate timing sprockets 60 and 61, but is borne entirely by the rollers 48. Such construction substantially reduces the probability of jamming of the timing and inching mechanism where deflections in the roof, floor or trusses in either the vertical or horizontal direction are experienced over the length of movement of the carriage.

A slotted vertically elongated aperture 72 is provided through the lower distal end of each of the carriage end support plates 34 and 36, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and a pair of brackets 73 are attached to the upper end of the bulkhead and straddle the lower end of each end plate as shown in FIG. 2. A suitable fastening means, such as bolt 74, extends through suitable eccentric washer 75, through each of the brackets and through the slotted aperture 72 in the end plates, suspending the bulkhead 22 from the carriage 24. The washers 75 are of similar construction and operate in a similar manner as washers 39 and bear against projecting portions of the brackets 73 to provide for vertical adjustment of the bulkhead. Since the aperture 72 is vertically elongated, adjustment of the bulkhead in the vertical direction independent of the carriage is possible in order to compensate for static variations in the inside height of the car, in general, or on one side of the other of the car.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the bulkhead assembly also includes a pair of latching mechanisms, generally 76, for latching the bulkhead 22 in its finally desired longitudinal position in the lading car. Since each of the latching mechanisms are substantial mirror images of each other, one latching mechanism only will be described. A longitudinally extending floor keeper 78 is provided extending along the edge of the floor 3 and a longitudinally extending ceiling keeper 80 is provided which extends along the lower edge of the channel plates 30. A plurality of apertures 82 are spaced along each of the keepers 78 and 80 for receiving floor latching pin 84 and ceiling latching pin 86 which are extendible from the bottom and top of the bulkhead respectively. The floor latching pin 84 preferably comprises a plate member 88 having a pair of cylindrical projections or pins 90 each of which is adapted to fit into one of the apertures 82. The plate ,88 is slideably positioned within the interior of the bulkhead by a guide member 92 and is normally urged in a downward direction by a compression spring 94 which is carried about an arm 96 attached to and extending upwardly from the plate 88. Another arm 98 is pivotally connected at 100 at one end to arm 96 and carries an elongated slot 102 at the other end. An arm 104 is pivotally attached at 105 to a fixed bracket 106 at one end and carries a pin 108 at the other end which extends into and moves within the elongated slot 102 of arm 98. An actuating arm 110 is pivotally attached at 112 intermediate the ends of arm [04 and is connected at the other end to an actuating link 114. A pair of handles 116 and 116' are slideably attached to each of the actuating links by a slide bushing member 117 and a cross connecting link 117A interconnects the links 114 such that they both may be operated simultaneously by handle 116.

Also connected to the actuating link 114 through arms 8 and 120 which are pivotally connected together, is the ceiling latching pin 86 which is formed on the distal end of the vertically moveable rod 120. The pin 86 is adapted to extend into one of the apertures 82 of the ceiling keeper 80 from the interior of the bulkhead. The rod 120 is springloaded into latching position by a compression spring 122. An access opening 124 is provided in the panel to allow manual manipulation of the handle 116 and an access opening 125 is provided in each edge of the panel to enable the handles 116 or 116 to be pulled upwardly through their slide bushings to allow operation of one or the other of the handles from the side of the car,

Referring to FIG. 2 the latching mechanisms 76 are shown in their latched position latching the bulkhead in a fixed position in the car. When in the latched position, the latching pins 86 and 90 are urged into the appropriate apertures 82 in the floor and ceiling keepers 78 and 80 due to the action of springs 94 and 122 and the operating handle 116 assumes the position shown in solid. When it is desired to unlatch the bulkhead and move the bulkhead to a different position in the car, the handle "6 is manually lifted to the dotted line position. Such movement pulls rod 120 and its pin 86 downwardly out of the aperture 82 of ceiling keeper 80 against the force of spring 122 and lifts arm 110 which causes the pins 90 to move upwardly. Pins 90 however will not move upwardly against the force of spring 94 until pin 108 reaches the upper end of the elongated slot 102 in arm 98. At this point an upward force is exerted on arms 98 and 96 and plate 88 and pins 90 will move upwardly out of the apertures 82 of the floor keeper 78 against the force of spring 94. It will be noted that the provision of the elongated slot 102 operates to maintain each of the latching pins 90 in their respective apertures 82 in the floor keeper regardless of the degree of deflection of the floor or the variation in the spacing distance between the floor and the roof of the car. For example if the floor sags downwardly, the floor keeper 78 will also move downwardly. However, the latching pins 90 will remain finnly inserted in the apertures 82 of the floor keeper since the pin 90 will be extended further out of the bulkhead by the action of spring 94. When the pins are so extended, the motion of the pins will not be transmitted back through the remaining linkage to cause the possible removal ofthc ceiling latching pin 86 since the remaining linkage is isolated from such motion by the elongated slot 102. Thus, the bulkhead will remain firmly latched into position irrespective of the degree of deflection experienced.

it should be understood that the embodiment of the present invention which has been described is merely illustrative of one application of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim is:

l. in a freight-carrying body and space-divider means therefor that includes an elongated, rectangular car body having a floor whose dimensions substantially define the load-carrying area of the body, two upright walls only at the opposite narrow ends of the body secured to the floor in load-transmitting structural relationship therewith, an elongated, rigid,

spinelike beam means of substantially smaller width than the narrow dimension of the body spanning the length of the body between said two walls and secured to the upper reaches of said end walls to provide longitudinal rigidification of the body without obstructing free access to the load-carrying space of the body through the two opposite long sides of the body; the improved combination comprising: said elongated beam means being located centrally of the car body and providing thereon, along opposite long sides thereof, outwardly extending tracks, a pair of bulkhead supports spaced apart a distance greater than the maximum span of the outwardly extending tracks, a bulkhead suspended from said bulkhead supports, rollers carried by said bulkhead supports and offset from the supports toward each other to ride on the pair of outwardly extending tracks so as to moveably support the bulkhead from the elongated beam means, and carriage means secured to the pair of bulkhead supports for maintaining spacing of said supports and the rollers thereon, the carriage body being spaced below both the rollers and the bottom of the elongated beam means; means for maintaining the bulkhead square as it is moved along the length of the body including an apertured sprocket plate rigidly secured to the underside of the beam means, the carriage body carrying a rotatable sprocket positioned for mating cooperation with the apertures in the sprocket plate, and chain fall means carried by the carriage body for effecting inching movement of the bulkhead through rotation of the sprocket; and latching means on the bulkhead including pin means which are extendible from the lower edge of the bulkhead for selectively latching the bottom ofthe bulkhead to the floor, and lost motion :means operatively associated with said latching means for maintaining said latching means in a latched position independent of the variation in distance between said beam means and the floor. 

1. In a freight-carrying body and space-divider means therefor that includes an elongated, rectangular car body having a floor whose dimensions substantially define the load-carrying area of the body, two upright walls only at the opposite narrow ends of the body secured to the floor in load-transmitting structural relationship therewith, an elongated, rigid, spinelike beam means, of substantially smaller width than the narrow dimension of the body spanning the length of the body between said two walls and secured to the upper reaches of said end walls to provide longitudinal rigidification of the body without obstructing free access to the load-carrying space of the body through the two opposite long sides of the body; the improved combination comprising: said elongated beam means being located centrally of the car body and providing thereon, along opposite long sides thereof, outwardly extending tracks, a pair of bulkhead supports spaced apart a distance greater than the maximum span of the outwardly extending tracks, a bulkhead suspended from said bulkhead supports, rollers carried by said bulkhead supports and offset from the supports toward each other to ride on the pair of outwardly extending tracks so as to moveably support the bulkhead from the elongated beam means, and carriage means secured to the pair of bulkhead supports for maintaining spacing of said supports and the rollers thereon, the carriage body being spaced below both the rollers and the bottom of the elongated beam means; means for maintaining the bulkhead square as it is moved along the length of the body including an apertured sprocket plate rigidly secured to the underside of the beam means, the carriage body carrying a rOtatable sprocket positioned for mating cooperation with the apertures in the sprocket plate, and chain fall means carried by the carriage body for effecting inching movement of the bulkhead through rotation of the sprocket; and latching means on the bulkhead including pin means which are extendible from the lower edge of the bulkhead for selectively latching the bottom of the bulkhead to the floor, and lost motion means operatively associated with said latching means for maintaining said latching means in a latched position independent of the variation in distance between said beam means and the floor. 